Leave Taylor Alone!

First, let me set a few things straight: I would not consider myself a devoted Taylor Swift fan-girl, (as I am for, say, Rihanna). At the same time, I am definitely not a Taylor Swift hater. I take her music for what it is – purely refined, joyous, country, bubble-gum pop. Her music isn’t trying to make a controversial political statement or work to unite warring countries. It’s supposed to be an incredibly catchy and all around a light-hearted good time. Yes, the music video for “I Knew You Were Trouble” looks like discarded footage from a bad Lana Del Rey music video, but if you claim not to know the words to “Love Song” or “We Are Never Ever (ever, ever, ever, ever, ever) Getting Back Together,” you are either a liar or do not possess a soul.

That’s why, though I may not be her biggest fan, I must insist that the heat she’s getting for her many recent romantic exploits is completely unwarranted. My first problem with the recent attacks against Taylor Swift is in regards to the number of guys she’s been linked to. For example, in defense of Miley Cyrus, reporter Ken Baker tweeted that Swift has been with more than 13 guys in the past 3 years, which makes her much more sexually deviant than Cyrus, who is currently engaged to Liam Hemsworth. Although Baker may have been trying to defend Cyrus from slut-shaming critics, all he accomplished was turning the criticism onto Swift. Why, instead of comparing the love lives of female celebrities and labeling them with degrading names such as slut, bitch, and whore, can we just acknowledge that both Cyrus and Swift are young celebrities who should have every right to express themselves and their sexuality however they want? Just because Cyrus doesn’t choose to don a nun’s habit and shield herself from the world because she’s in a long-term relationship doesn’t mean she’s a “slut,” and just because Swift decides to date multiple people because she’s single – which is, FYI, what people do when they’re single – doesn’t mean she’s a “whore.” Last time I checked, no one’s been keeping tabs on how many girls Bruno Mars has been dating, primarily because the media expects a young male celebrity to date as many people as he wants without being labeled as sexually deviant.

“Maybe we should all take a page out of Swift’s book and write a poem the next time we feel the urge to drown out our sorrows at 1020… let’s remember that Swift is only in her early twenties and is more than allowed to have a couple more years to stew in teenage angst.”

Face it, girl’s got skill – this song will never ever, ever get out of your head

The next contention that Swift regularly gets is the claim that she only dates people in order to have material for songs/deals with relationships immaturely by documenting every romantic dalliance in song-form. Let’s face it: for the most part, relationships and love absolutely suck, and if Swift finds that music helps her express herself in a constructive and non-harmful manner, more power to her! While I personally do not choose to soothe my broken heart by writing catchy pop tunes, maybe we should all take a page out of Swift’s book and write a poem the next time we feel the urge to drown out our sorrows at 1020. Some may criticize Swift for seeming to be in a state of perpetual teenager-hood with each new relationship she encounters, but let’s remember that Swift is only in her early twenties and is more than allowed to have a couple more years to stew in teenage angst.

While I do not condone all of Swift’s actions when it comes to relationships – such as allegedly looking at real-estate near the abodes of Connor Kennedy and Harry Styles while each were her paramour – she certainly does not deserve the amount of heat she’s getting. Like the rest of us, Swift is allowed not to have it all figured out, and part of that process of growing up is having some messy relationships along the way. So what if Swift wants to find true love! Don’t we all?

Ama Debrah is a junior at Barnard and the New York and On Campus Editor for The Nine Ways of Knowing

2 thoughts on “Leave Taylor Alone!”

Taylor Swift flirts. After publicly humiliating Harry Styles at the Brit Awards she was flirting with his black friend Jordan Stephen of Rizzle Kicks. After whoring with so many white men it’s about time Taylor Swift started whoring with niggers as well.